Chapter 414
414
Third Person’s POV
It all hinged on whether Tad could stall at the negotiation site. If he adopted an ambiguous stance to buy time, he could keep Victor at the table. That would delay Victor’s return until the day after tomorrow , giving the rescue mission a more lenient timeframe.
Caldwell had devised the rescue plan: one person would wait outside while three others stormed the fortress.
Tommy was assigned to the support role, with the operation set for 6 p.m. tonight–the guard shift change.
Though the three were formidable werewolves, infiltrating the heavily guarded fortress and rescuing someone from the underground prison was daunting.
However, Lance and Klein had previously scouted the area several times by night.
While they hadn’t reached the prison, they had familiarized themselves with the layout and guard patterns, offering a glimmer of hope.
Meanwhile, in a riverside wooden hut near Bell River, ten individuals sat in a circle.
Bearded and dressed as fishermen, they blended in with the locals.
They sat on the ground around a low table, with a blueprint spread out on it.
The blueprint was hard–earned; they had kidnapped a craftsman who had worked on the military fortress and forced him to draw it.
Though the builder lacked original plans, his memory–based sketch was a start.
The craftsman was currently detained in a room, to be freed once the rescue was over.
“Tomorrow evening may be our last chance, one man said gravely, pointing to the blueprint.
“The rescue will be perilous. We know the fortress structure but not the specific troop deployments. Ten of us against a fortress–it’s a David–vs–Goliath scenario. So, I ask you—those in favor of the rescue, raise your hands; the rest, seize the opportunity to leave with Victor tomorrow and return to Frostbite Town, where you can reunite with your families.”
A man on the left frowned. “Mr. Hutchinson, how can you suggest that? We’re the Eugenius Scout Team- we never abandon our own.”
“In wartime, we might have survived at all costs for intelligence, but the war’s over. The Southern Border is reclaimed. We can’t leave a comrade to be humiliated here. We stand or fall together.”
“Live together, die together!”
“Exactly! Eleven of us–we live or die as one!”
live
Eugenius was moved to tears.
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Over the years, they had traveled in disguise across border towns, braving all weathers
He was no longer the dapper Eugenius but Hutchinson now..
Since forming the Eugenius Scout Team, hierarchy was dissolved; all were equals with one shared goal- delivering intelligence.
Eugenius slammed the table. “Alright, the rescue is on for tomorrow at six!”
On the evening of June eighteenth, the ten men raised tin cups filled with water.
In recent years, they’d had no coffee or alcohol.
Coffee was a luxury they couldn’t afford.
Cheap whiskey was available, but they avoided it–fearing drunken slips could cost them their lives .
They hadn’t purchased alcohol except once, when they learned of Alpha Bentley and his six sons‘ sacrifice.
They poured the bought whiskey on the ground and wept beneath their covers that night.
But grief lasted but a night. The next day, they wiped their tears and continued their perilous journey , for the Southern Border was yet unreclaimed.
Once the Southern Border was secured and Victor’s army retreated to guard this area, their intelligence- running days ended.
Crossing the border became nearly impossible.
Previously, they had smuggled themselves into supply convoys heading to Frostbite Town.
Now, with no need for intelligence and no way to join the convoys, their situation grew
dire.
During this time, they scrambled to find a way out of the border, but their efforts led to Stokes’s capture.
Despite torture, he never betrayed them; otherwise, the Dragon Ash Royal soldiers would have found them.
Stokes’s unwavering resolve inspired them.
Kicking off their worn–out shoes, the ten men bent down to put on new ones.
They shed their tattered clothes and donned homemade black night–suits–a far cry from their former battle–worn attire.
These suits were crafted from black cloth they’d bought and sewn themselves.
Once warriors who wielded swords on the battlefield, they had learned to sew out of necessity.
In the early days, they had no weapons. Escaping the prisoner camp, they were stripped of everything. their clothes in rags.
Over years of hardship, they acquired reliable arms.
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414
15 Free Comes
When not gathering intelligence, Hutchinson and Stokes led them on night runs through the mountains.
Resilient as desert weeds, their loyalty and perseverance had sustained them to this day.